


By Royal Decree

by Femalemarvelfanatic, M1das



Category: Captain America, Marvel’s Avengers
Genre: Dirty Talk, M/M, Riding Instructor!Steve, Royalty, prince!Tony
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-25
Updated: 2018-10-13
Packaged: 2019-06-16 09:30:11
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,791
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15434058
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Femalemarvelfanatic/pseuds/Femalemarvelfanatic, https://archiveofourown.org/users/M1das/pseuds/M1das
Summary: Who knew Prince Anthony's instructor could fix him in every single way? Except from his fear of horses.





	1. Chapter 1

   “Happy birthday, Your Highness!” His Royal Highness, Prince Anthony of The House of Stark was woken on the morning of his twentieth birthday by his family’s butler, Edwin Jarvis, throwing back the curtains around his bed, letting in the blinding morning sunlight, and his attendant, Harold “Happy” Hogan, speaking loudly.

    “Yes, Sir! Happy birthday!” Jarvis said in a softer tone. The prince groaned in response and rolled over, trying to go back to sleep. “I do apologize, Your Highness, but you cannot go back to sleep right now. Their Majesties are waiting for you in the throne room.”

    “...of course they are. Can’t even sleep in on my own birthday…”

    “I'm sorry, Prince Anthony. There’s a matter that your parents would like to discuss with you immediately,” Happy said, going to the young royal’s wardrobe and pulling out a garment.

    “Come on. How hard is it for you guys to call me ‘Tony’?”

    “It is not difficult at all, Your Highness,” Jarvis said, patiently. “It is just improper. You are a royal, and our superior. Calling you by a shortened version of your given name would be disrespectful, not only to you, but also to the King and Queen, who spent many months searching for a name befitting of their adopted son and heir, since your birth mother, Maria, died before she could name you.” Happy nodded, agreeing with Jarvis.

    Tony sighed, but dropped the subject. He took the garment from Happy and went to bathe. Soon, he was ready, and, after putting a pack of cigarettes and a lighter into his pocket, made the long walk to the throne room on the other side of the castle, where his parents were waiting.

    “Hello, Mummy!” He said, kissing her cheek. “Father.”

    “Hello, dearest!” Queen Peggy said.

    “Happy birthday, son,” the king said. Howard looked up from the document he had been reading on his Starkpad, turned off the device when he saw his son, and set it aside.

    “Thank you, Father.” Tony sat down beside his mother.

    “I’m sorry we had to wake you up early on your birthday, darling, but we have a surprise for you!” The queen looked pleased by something.

    “A surprise, Mother? What is it?”

     Tony’s father spoke for his wife. “As you know, in our kingdom, a prince is eligible to be king on his twenty-first birthday. Which means that you will be in line for the throne next year. As king, it will be your duty to journey to other kingdoms to forge alliances and aid them in times of war, as they will do for you. There will be times when you will be expected to ride a horse...without having a fit of terror, so we’ve hired an instructor by the name of Steve Rogers to teach you. He’ll be here soon. Go wait in the stables for him.” The king picked up his Starkpad and turned it back on, clearly dismissing his son.

    Tony stood, said goodbye to his mother, and left. Once outside, he saw someone on horseback, but didn’t pay them much attention, other than to note that the rider seemed very experienced. When he reached the stables, the young royal leaned against the left side of the frame, with his back to the yard, and pulled out a cigarette and the lighter. After a few minutes, he heard a voice behind him.

    “Cigarettes are bad for you, y’know.”

    “Taking care of other people's lives is, too.” Tony turned and saw a muscular young man, with blond hair, behind him. “Are you Steve?”

    As soon as Tony turned around, Steve Rogers saw that the person he had been speaking to was the prince. He quickly dismounted from the horse he had been riding and knelt, his whole face turning red in shame. 

    “I’m sorry, Your Highness! I didn’t know that it was you. Please forgive me!”

    “It's alright. As you said, you didn’t know it was me. Call me ‘Tony’, by the way. I saw you on my way over here. You look really good riding those horses, although…” The prince came closer, put his hand on Steve's neck, and whispered softly in his ear, “I bet you would look even better riding me.” He threw the cigarette on the ground before stepping on it to put it out, and walked back to the castle like nothing had happened, leaving Steve speechless.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Femalemarvelfanatic and M1das would like to thank hello-shellhead (hello-shellhead.tumblr.com) for granting us permission to use a drawing on their tumblr as inspiration for this fic.
> 
> As always, you can find us at femalemarvelfanatic.tumblr.com and eveisevenworse.tumblr.com!


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, It's m1das here! Femalemarvelfanatic & I were super glad to see all of your support! I made a gifset for this (it's already posted on my tumblr), but I can't find a way to put this on the notes, so I put it at the beginning of the chapter.

   The following afternoon, Tony was standing outside of the stables, waiting for Steve to bring out a horse, and taking deep royal breaths trying to calm down his racing heart. “Calm down,” he said to himself. “You can do this. You are a Stark and Starks are made of iron. It’s just a horse. There’s nothing to be afraid of. So what if they’re huge...with long faces...and sharp teeth...and hooves that could step on you...and weigh enough to crush you… oh, God. No! Don’t think like that. Just breathe, Tony. Think about something else. Like...the periodic table.”

    As Tony was saying “K is potassium” to himself, the riding instructor finally came out with a beautiful mahogany-brown horse with a black mane and tail. But the size of the horse made the young prince take several steps back, and Steve frowned.

    “What’s the matter?” he asked, concerned.

    “H...horse. Big. Scared.” Tony stuttered.

    “Are you...afraid of horses?” The royal nodded. “Damn it. They should have told me that when they hired me. I’m sorry, Your Highness. I didn’t know. What is it that scares you about them?”

    “They're dangerous at both ends and crafty in the middle. Why would I want anything with a mind of its own bobbing about between my legs?”

    “‘Dangerous’?” Steve asked.

    “Very large, very sharp teeth and beady eyes at one end, and a tail that could knock me off my feet at the other. Not to mention the hooves that could crush my bones, and the fact that it could decide to sit on me, which would probably kill me instantly.”

    “He won’t kill you. I promise. Come here.” Steve grabbed the horse’s reins with one hand and Tony’s hand with his other hand. Slowly, he put the prince’s hand on the horse’s mane and moved it in a petting motion. “Yes, horses are big, but they’re gentle creatures. They won’t hurt you if you don’t hurt them.”

    Tony whimpered, still scared. “I don’t want to learn to ride, but my father says I have to if I’m going to be king. I’m just so afraid!” He started crying softly.

    Steve turned Tony toward him, wiped his tears away, and gave the other man a gentle hug. “It’s alright,” he said. “I’m glad you told me about this. The first thing we have to do is help you conquer your fear. Maybe if you know more about horses, you’ll stop being scared of them. Our lessons are supposed to be in the afternoons, but I want you to meet me here every morning, too, so we’ll have lessons twice a day. We won’t be riding at first. I’ll just be teaching you about horses. The different breeds, how to take care of them...that kind of thing. Then, once you’re more comfortable around them, we’ll go back to having lessons just in the afternoons so I can teach you how to ride. What do you say, my prince? Do we have a deal?”

     Tony looked at his instructor, trying to figure out if the blond was a man of his word, but nodded after a moment. “Yes, we do.”

    Steve smiled. “Great! I’ll see you tomorrow morning, then! Enjoy your evening, Your Highness!”

    That night Tony walked into the library, a large pitcher of mead in his hand, with plans to read all night to stay awake. “Damn night terrors…” the young royal muttered to himself. He put the pitcher on a table and walked over to the bookshelves. “Now, what to read?” He remembered a tale his maid had told him when he was a boy about a sick man who had learned that a war was starting in a distant kingdom. That man had miraculously become healthy after being exposed to gamma rays, then became the captain of the kingdom of Shield’s knights, fought and won many battles in that war, and had ultimately sacrificed his own life to save not only their land, but every other land as well, putting an end to the war. No one had known his name, or if someone did they were long dead, so he was simply called “The Captain”. Tony had fallen in love with science because of that story and been determined to learn everything he could about gamma rays and radiation. Now he looked through the shelves searching for a book about that very subject. Suddenly he stopped. The Legend Of (And Science Behind) The Captain. ‘ _Perfect!_ ’ he thought. He grabbed the thick and heavy book off the shelf and settled down into an armchair to read.

    After several hours, the prince looked up from his book and saw the sun starting to raise behind a faraway mountain. ‘ _I did it!_ ’ he thought, happy that he had managed to stay awake all night and not dream about the past. Standing up from his chair, the prince stretched, then grabbed the empty mead pitcher and walked back to his room to get ready for his morning lessons with his very handsome riding instructor.

    Two hours later, Tony walked out of the castle and toward the livery yard where Steve was waiting for him. “Good morning!” he called when he was within hearing distance of his instructor, who was moving barrels of hay.

    “Hi!” Steve put down his load and waved.

    When Tony came closer, Steve noticed the dark circles under his eyes, but decided not to say anything about it.

    “So, the first thing you need to know would be how to mount. You have a saddle on the horse’s back, you put your foot on the stirrup, and use that as leverage to jump and get on top. But we agreed that you’re not riding it yet, so I want to tell you about your horse.” The instructor lead him all the way to a horse, holding the prince's hand to comfort him while they were around horses, due to the royal’s fear. “This is Friday. She’s a pure-bred Connemara Pony mare. The main reason I chose a pony and not the traditional stallion that royals usually ride is because they’re very tall and I wasn’t sure you would be able to mount it.”

    “Are you making fun of my height, Rogers?”

    “Not at all, pr...Tony.” He seemed uncomfortable. “Friday is a very well behaved horse. I trained her myself!”

    Steve then sat down on a bench that was close by and got out a small notebook, but Tony couldn’t really see where it came from. The prince sat down beside him, and the instructor started showing him beautiful drawings of horses with arrows indicating each part. Even though the prince tried to stay awake, Steve’s voice was soft and soothing, and he couldn’t help but to let his eyes close and sleep peacefully against the blond.

    Steve didn’t notice that the prince had fallen asleep at first, but when he did, felt bad waking the young prince up, so he let Tony lean against him and put a hand on his hair, delicately brushing the dark strands away from his face.

    The action made the prince wrinkle his nose and shuffle closer to his instructor, but he didn’t wake up. Steve chuckled. ‘ _Cute._ ’ He pulled a pencil out of his pocket, flipped to a blank page in his notebook and started sketching. Just as he was finishing his drawing of the sleeping royal, Tony woke up.

    “Hi,” the riding instructor said softly. “How was your nap?”

    “Good,” Tony replied. ‘ _Huh. No nightmares._ ’ “I’m sorry for falling asleep. I didn’t get any sleep last night.”

    “Yeah, I thought you looked tired when I first saw you this morning. Well, it’s almost time for lunch now, so why don’t we take a break, and go back to your lessons this afternoon?” The prince nodded and they parted ways for a few hours.

    After the class, Tony still had a little time before lunch would be served at noon. He headed to the royal library, searching avidly for a book he read a few years before, about thermonuclear astrophysics. He stopped only when Jarvis called him to go to the dining hall, disappointed because he didn’t find the book he was looking for. It was partly his fault for never putting the books back in the right place. In the afternoon, Tony had more classes before going back to the library, continuing his search for his precious book, finally finding it in the kids’ section, for some reason. He read and studied until he realized it was too late to be in the library, and that Jarvis and Happy were probably looking for him.

    Around two o’clock the next morning, Tony was still awake. ‘ _Happy and Jarvis told me that I have to get some sleep tonight, and I know that they’re right. But when I do sleep, I get night terrors about...what happened. Except for this morning when I fell asleep next to Steve. I didn’t have a bad dream then. Huh. I wonder if…_ ’ The prince got out of bed, left his chambers, and walked down the hall to where the guest bedchamber was. Taking a deep breath, he knocked on the door. After a few minutes, the door opened to reveal the other man, who had quite obviously been sleeping.

    “Tony? What’s wrong?”

    “Can I sleep with you?”

    The riding instructor blinked. “...excuse me?”

    Tony shook his head. “Sorry. I mean, can I sleep next to you?” He paused. “Unless you want to sleep _with_ me...which, I mean, we can totally make that happen.”

    “No, thank you,” the blond said politely. “May I ask why you want to sleep here instead of in your own bed, Your Highness?”

    "Uh...your voice relaxes me a lot, and this morning was the first time I slept well, and without nightmares. Can I _please_ sleep next to you?"

    Steve frowned. “How long has it been since you got a full-night’s sleep?”

    Tony hesitated, as if he _really_ didn’t want to tell Steve the truth. “Um...not long, just...a few years?”

    The riding instructor stared at him. “A few…?” He opened the door fully. “Come in. I can’t believe no one has done anything to help you before now! Don’t they care that their prince is suffering?! I am seriously thinking about waking up Their Majesties, just so I can ask them why they’ve never done anything to help you. Years! Get under the covers. It’s time for bed.”

    “Thank you!” The prince grinned, practically ran over to the bed, and climbed in.

    “You’re welcome. And we’ll cancel your morning lesson tomorrow so you can rest.” He got into bed next to the royal. “Good night, Tony.” Steve closed his eyes, but just as he was about to fall asleep, the prince broke the silence.

    “...Steve?”

    “Hmmm…”

    “Would you…” The royal stopped.

    “What? What do you need, Tony?”

    “I know it’s late, or early...and you’re tired, but...would you talk to me for a few minutes? Your voice will calm me down enough to sleep without getting a night terror. So...please?”

    “Alright. How was your evening? I bet it was great. Mine was like every other evening. I fed and groomed the horses, then I took a ride on my horse, America. That’s the one with a white patch that looks like a star on his forehead. I always end up smelling like a horse after spending so much time around them, but I love what I do, so I guess it’s worth it. You mumbled a little while you were asleep this morning. It was very cute.” The riding instructor looked over at Tony and saw that he was fast asleep...and snoring a little bit. “Huh. I guess my voice really _does_ help you sleep. Good to know. Good night, my handsome prince.” Steve rolled over and went to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tony’s line “They're dangerous at both ends and crafty in the middle. Why would I want anything with a mind of its own bobbing about between my legs?” is a line that Robert Downey Jr. has in the movie “Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows”


	3. Chapter 3

    When Tony woke up the next morning, he was very confused. ‘ _What? Where am I?_ ’ He tried to sit up to look around, but found himself pinned to the bed by somebody’s arm. The prince looked over to find the source of his immobility. ‘ _Steve. That’s right. I slept here last night._ ’ He took a minute to just look at his riding instructor. ‘ _He’s so handsome. Probably has a girlfriend or wife waiting for him to finish teaching me so he can go home to her.’_ As Tony watched, Steve blinked awake.

    “Mmm...good morning,” the blond said, his voice thick with sleep. “Did you sleep well, after you came over last night? No nightmares?”

    “I slept great!” Tony grinned. “Thank you for letting me stay. I’m not sure if I’ve thanked you yet. I should have. I really do appreciate it. You didn’t have to. I know I’m the prince and you’re my instructor, but you could have said no and—”

    “Tony!” Steve interrupted, removing his arm from around the other man and sitting up. “You’re welcome. Now, if you’ll excuse me, Your Highness, I have chores to see to this morning. You’re welcome to stay here and go back to sleep, or do so back in your own bed. Either way, I’ll see you this afternoon for your lessons.”

    “Um…” Tony hesitated. “Actually...could I come with you? Maybe help you with whatever chores you have? Please?”

    “It has to do with the horses,” the riding instructor said, thinking that would make the royal change his mind. “Grooming and feeding them, mucking out stalls, cleaning equipment, things like that. Are you _sure_ you want to come with me?” The prince hesitated for a second then nodded. ‘ _As long as I don’t have to actually look at a horse, I should be ok. I hope!_ ’ “Alright. I’ll meet you at the stables in an hour. Wear something...I’m not even sure if you have anything like this, but wear something casual. Something that you won’t care if you get dirty. And work boots, if you have any. But nothing fancy!”

    “I know the perfect thing to wear! I’ll see you soon.” Tony got out of Steve’s bed and walked back to his room.

    When the prince got there, he found Happy waiting for him.

    “Good morning, Your Highness! You are very lucky that I came in, instead of Jarvis or Their Majesties, otherwise there would be questions about your whereabouts. Now, what would you like to wear today, Prince Anthony?” The prince’s attendant crossed to the wardrobe.

    “The lavender suit, with a black shirt, please.”

    “The shiny one, with the paisley pattern?” Happy asked.

    “Yep! That’s the one!” Tony pointed to a pair of simple black loafers. “And those shoes.”

    “Yes, Your Highness.”

    After an hour, the prince was dressed and ready to go meet his instructor.

    “Don’t forget your communicator, Sir!” Happy held out a gold cuff bracelet, with various adornments, that vibrated softly when there was a holographic call and opened a hologram if it was pressed twice. The communicator could also send text messages if the sides of the device were pinched. It was fairly easy to use, didn't look like a technological device at all, and everyone in the castle and on its grounds, except for the king, was required to wear one. Tony took it and slipped it over his left wrist.

    Soon he was walking to the stables. When he got there, and Steve looked at him, the riding instructor rubbed his temples. “When I told you to wear something casual, that is _not_ what I had in mind.” He sighed. “Wait here. I’ll get you some of my clothes to borrow for the day.” When he returned, about ten minutes later, the blond was carrying a red plaid button-up shirt, jeans, and slightly scuffed-up brown leather cowboy boots. “Here. Put these on.”

    “Thank you!” Tony said gratefully before taking the clothes from him going to the back of the stables to change. As soon as he was ready, he came back to see that Steve had moved three heavy bags over to a very large container that was on a raised platform. “What’s that?” he asked, as his instructor pulled out a pocket knife to cut open one of the bags, which looked like it was full of...seeds? Tony wasn’t sure.

    “Hmmm...I’m sorry that my clothes don’t fit you very well,” the blond said when he looked at the royal. The shirt Tony was wearing went down to the middle of his thighs, and the boots made him look like he was a little kid playing dress-up with his father’s shoes. He just shrugged and waited for his question to be answered.

    “This,” the blond said, pointing to the bags, “is the horses’ feed...their food.” He then pointed a large rectangular container. “And this is the bin that the horses’ feed goes into. What I’d like you to do is pour every bit of feed from all of the bags into the bin. Can you do that?” Tony nodded. Of course he could. ‘ _Lift and dump! Easy!_ ’ “Great! While you’re doing that, I’m going to groom them. Shout if you need me, ok?” The prince nodded again and got to work.

    As he was finishing emptying the first bag, he heard his instructor’s voice. “Come on, Rose. Come on, girl,” the man spoke softly to a yellowish tan-colored horse, who had a white stripe down her nose and a white mane. ‘ _Mother’s horse_ ,’ Tony thought before going back to his task.

    After grooming the king’s horse, Tess, a dark chocolate brown mare with a black mane and tail, the riding instructor got to work grooming Lightning, Arrow, Patriot, and Falcon, the knights' horses. No one had ever seen such fast and agile horses. The knights hadn’t known that when they picked the little foals to be theirs, or that all of them had picked horses from the same breed. They were tall, honey-colored horses with manes almost the same color, except for Patriot, who had a series of dark brown star-shaped freckles on its right hip. Soon, Steve came back to the prince’s side. “All finished?”

    “Mmhmm. What’s next?” Tony asked, wanting to keep busy.

    “Cleaning equipment while they eat. Then we’ll... _I’ll_ take them out to the paddock to get some fresh air and exercise. Once they’re outside, we’ll have to muck out every stall,” the blond said.

    As they took the equipment for the horses outside to clean, Steve thought. He showed the prince how to clean everything, and thought. They were both quiet as they got to work on their task, and he thought more. Suddenly, he couldn’t stand it anymore and had to ask the royal a question that had been bothering him for the last two days.

    “Why are you so scared of horses, Tony?” he asked shamelessly. The brunet looked up from his task of cleaning a saddle.

    “I...It’s complicated. My father and I, we…” The other man started sobbing, and could no longer look at his instructor.

    “It’s ok if you don’t want to talk about it.” The blond put a hand on the prince's shoulder.

    “I’m fine. I should be over it by now.”

    “But you’re not!” Steve held Tony tightly, his hand playing with the hair on the prince's neck. “It was mean of them to make you have these classes when you didn’t want to.”

    “Him,” he corrected. “It was mean of him to make me do this. It was my father who insisted on it.”

    Steve let go of the hug. His fingers traced the apples of Tony’s cheeks lightly to clean off the tears.

    “The asshole, he...he knew I disliked horses. He does this shit to torture me!” Tony yelled, his face turning red, and the riding instructor frowned.

    “Tony, I don’t think he…”

    “He does! He hates me!”

    “Why would he hate you? You’re his son!”

    “I don’t know, but…” The prince was cut off by the vibration of his communicator. He took a few deep breaths to calm down, then double-tapped the top of the device, and a hologram of his childhood friend, Virginia, who now worked as the Stark family reeve, appeared above the bracelet.

    “Hi, Pepper,” Tony greeted the former princess, who had chosen to give up her title and help his family after their former reeve passed away suddenly.

    “Tony, your father wants to see you. He’s in the library. I’m far too busy making sure this castle runs smoothly, and on schedule, to be the king’s messenger, but I was the first person he saw with a communicator. I’ll never understand why kings aren’t required to wear them like everybody else. I’m coming to get you. Stay where you are. There are some things I need to talk to you about on our way to the castle,” and without letting Tony answer, she ended the call with a “goodbye”.

    A few minutes later, she reached them at the stables, telling Tony to go change back into his lavender suit. When he was gone, Pepper turned to the blond.

    “He slept in your room last night, right?” she asked.

    “Yeah...he did,” Steve frowned, wondering how she found out about it. “How did you...how did you know?”

    “We spoke this morning while he was getting ready to meet you. The nightmares, he mentioned you made them stop.”

    “I didn’t do anything...I just...let him stay after he told me he hasn’t had a good night’s sleep in a few years because of horrible nightmares. About that...you and Tony are pretty close, right? Do you know why he gets them?”

    “Yes, but I’m not allowed to talk about it, Steve. He swore me to secrecy. Maybe you should ask him on your next date.” She chuckled at the implication that Steve was dating the prince. “But right now, Tony has places to be, and I have to go along. It was nice talking to you... _Cinderella_.”

    Pepper noticed the prince return and stopped speaking. After Tony gave the riding instructor back his clothes, they left, and as they did Steve could hear her telling him that she was not aware of what the conversation was going to be about, but asked him to be careful because the king seemed to be enraged, getting a “when isn't he?” in response.

    Once Tony got to the library, he saw his father sitting at a table and reading something on his Starkphone. The king didn’t bother to look up as his son approached.

    “Get your things ready, Anthony, we are traveling this evening,” the king said harshly.

    “Where to, and what for?” the prince asked, trying to keep the conversation as short as possible.

    “Jotunheim. There will be a ball tonight. I want you to meet a potential queen for this kingdom,” Tony rolled his eyes at his father's words. “I already told you not to do that, Anthony. It’s disrespectful.” He still hadn’t looked up from his phone.

  “I do what I want. Can I take a companion with me?” ‘ _I wonder if Steve would like to go with me. It would give me the chance to get to know him better. Plus he would probably look amazing in a suit.’_

    “I didn’t know you were seeing a girl.”

    “Not a date, just...a friend to keep me company. I don’t know anyone from Jotunheim.”

    “So they can distract you? No. You and your mother and I only.”

    The prince nodded and exited the room. As soon as the doors closed behind him, he asked Pepper to arrange for him to have a carriage of his own, both so that he wouldn’t have to be around his father more than what was absolutely necessary and so he could leave later than his parents on the off chance that he found someone to sleep with. He then asked Jarvis and Happy to lay out his dark green suit and a fur cloak.

    After lunch, the royal went back to the stables for his afternoon lesson.

    “Hi, Steve!”

    “Hi! Everything’s all set for your lesson!” The riding instructor lead the prince to a wooden structure that was the shape and size of a pony, with a saddle and other equipment laying on the grass next to it. “You’re going to practice getting this horse ready to ride, then climb into the saddle. If that goes well, we’ll try doing the same thing on your horse.”

    Tony was nervous about the idea but nodded anyway. “Where do I start?” he asked.

    “Well, the _very_ firststep is to put a halter on the horse, with a lead rope attached to it, and use that to tie her to a post, so she stays put.”

    “Can’t I just tell her to ‘stay’?”

    “Horses aren’t like dogs. They don’t understand words like ‘stay’,” the riding instructor said. “The next step is grooming her, and making sure she doesn’t have any sores or anything like that. If she does, she isn’t fit for riding. You need to wait until her sores have healed before you saddle her. That’s really important, so you have to do it before every ride, and you can’t ever skip it. Understand?”

    “Groom her and make sure there are no sores. And do it every time I want to go for a ride,” the prince repeated obediently.

    “Good. But, since this isn’t a real horse, we can skip that for now. See that pad?” Tony looked down and saw a pad that was shaped like the outline of a saddle. “Put that on first. It will protect her back and make sure the saddle stays in place. Put it just below her mane, and make sure it’s even on both sides. Good! Next is the saddle. You’ll mostly be using an English-style saddle. It’s better for formal and show riding, which is all you’ll need to do on horseback anyway. Stand on her left side. Great! Now, see everything that’s dangling off the saddle? Flip it all into the top of the saddle so nothing can accidentally hit her while you’re putting the saddle on. Put the saddle on her back on top of the pad, but center it so that there’s an inch of space all the way around. Now secure the saddle onto her. There’s a strap on either side of the saddle, called a girth. It’s the one without the metal at the ends. Lower that on both sides. Bring the one on the far side around to the side you’re standing on, under her belly, and attach it to the girth on your side. It should land just behind her front legs. If there’s a gap between her elbows and the girth, the saddle is too far back. Now attach the two sides. Make sure it’s secure. You should be able to get your hand between her belly and the girth, but it should be snug. Ok. Lower the stirrups.”

    Tony did as he said, then smiled. “I did it! And on my first try, too!”

    “Yes, you did! Good job! Now you have to put on the bridle.” The royal stopped smiling. “Yeah. You aren’t quite done yet. Sorry!”

    “No, you’re not,” the prince grumbled under his breath, but Steve ignored him and continued the lesson.

    “First make sure it’s the right size for her. If it’s too big, it will slide around in her mouth, but if it’s too small, it can pinch her. Now take off the part of the halter where the noseband is. Pick up the bridle from the top part with your left hand. Just let the rest of it dangle. Move the straps to the outside of the cheek pieces so they don’t get tangled up. Good! Now put the reins over her neck. Hold the bridle in your right hand. Hold it so  that the two sides are a good distance apart, with the crown up and the throatlatch straps hanging free and not tangled in any other straps.” The prince just stared at him blankly. “I mean the part that goes near her throat. That just makes sure her bridle doesn’t fall off. Grab the reins while you do it so that you don’t create loops for her to step in and keep all the straps off the ground. The next step is to have her drop her head so you can get the bit in her mouth.”

    “The what?”

    “The metal bar. The easiest way to do that is to give her a treat, like a carrot or a sugar cube. Hold the bit in the palm of your left hand, with your right forearm paralleling the top of her neck. Your right hand should be right next to her ears. _Gently_ press the bit next to her teeth. Once she opens her mouth, slip the bit, and the treat, into her mouth.”

    “What if she bites me?!” Tony sounded slightly panicked.

    “She won’t.”

    “But…”

    “Oh, for fuck’s sake…” Steve took a deep breath to calm down. “Tony. Listen to me. I’m right here. I would never let anything bad happen to you. Do you trust me?”

    The royal nodded immediately. “Of course I do!”

    “Then please believe me when I say that she won’t bite you. Now keep gentle pressure on the bit so she doesn’t try to spit it out, and slip the crown of the bridle over her ears. Ok. You don’t have to, but she should get another treat for being good. Adjust the browband. It should always rest against her forehead and be set an inch or two below the base of her ears. Check from the front to make sure it's straight and isn't pinching her. While you’re doing that, check the headstall and cheek pieces to make sure everything is straight. Get in front of her to double-check everything.”

    “Do I have to?!”

    “Yes, Tony, you have to. Good! You’re almost done. Buckle the throatlatch. Check that you can get four fingers between that strap and her neck. It needs to be loose enough to maintain slack, even when her head is bent down. Now check that everything fits and that the bit is in the right position. There should be two wrinkles on either side of her mouth. If there are too few wrinkles, you need to shorten the cheek straps. If you _do_ have to shorten them, make sure everything else is still even. Now you can untie her, unbuckle the lead rope from the halter, and take the halter off. You’re done getting her ready! Ok. Only one thing left to do. Getting into the saddle! Stand on her left side and put your left foot into the stirrup. Grab both sides of the saddle for balance.” Steve got behind Tony and held onto the prince’s waist to make sure he didn’t fall. “Now, using both the stirrup and the saddle as leverage, pull yourself up and over the saddle, swinging your right leg over her at the same time. Exactly! You did great, Tony!” He grinned up at his student. “I’m really proud of you!”

    They took everything of the wooden horse, brought it to the paddock, where Friday was waiting for them, and, after a “small” panic attack because of his fear, the prince was tasked with repeating the same process of saddling and bridling, but this time without help from his instructor. He was doing amazingly well, too! But as he went to get into the saddle, he slipped and fell. Thankfully, Steve was standing right next to him and was able to catch the royal before he could get hurt.

    “Thank you for catching me.”

    “You’re welcome. Anything for Prince Tony...the Tiny,” the riding instructor teased. Tony glared.

    “You’re lucky you’re cute,” he grumbled.

    Steve smiled. ‘ _He thinks I’m cute_ ,’ he thought happily, then turned serious. “This is my fault. I shouldn’t have pushed you so fast. Are you ok? Can I get you anything?”

    “No, I’m ok. Just a little sore, but ok,” Tony said, straightening his shirt. “Although it’s quite nice having your arms around me.”

    Steve blushed and helped Tony stand up.     

    “Ouch! I think I hurt my leg,” the prince complained when he tried to put weight on his left foot. “Can you help me back to the castle?”

    The blond man put his arm around Tony’s waist, with the prince’s arm around his neck, and started walking slowly back to the stable, promising that he would put Friday back in her stall and then help the brunet back to the castle. “Will you be ok by yourself for a few minutes while I take care of Friday?” He carefully helped the royal onto a crate so he could rest for a moment.

    “I’ll be fine. If it’s easier, I have my communicator, so I can send Happy a text and ask him to come get me.”

   “Are you sure? I don’t mind helping you.” Tony nodded. “Alright. I’ll see you tomorrow, then.”

    “Oh. Um...I might be late in the morning. I’m being forced to go to a ball in Jotunheim tonight and I’m not sure what time I’ll get back.”

    “That’s fine. Just send me a text whenever you get home and we’ll have your lesson then.”

    “Ok. See you tomorrow, Steve!”

    “Have fun tonight, Your Highness!” The blond turned and headed back to Friday.

    The next morning, as Steve was heading to the kitchen for breakfast with the other servant, he overheard Natasha, the queen’s lady’s maid, and Wanda, a scullery maid, gossiping.

    “Queen Peggy told me all about the ball they went to last night. Apparently there were about a hundred princesses for Prince Anthony to talk to, but he didn’t want anything to do with any of them. The king was very displeased,” Natasha said.

    “I heard that, too. But I also heard that after Their Majesties left the ball, the prince decided to stay the night because he wanted to... _spend time_...with a noblewoman named Christine.”

    “ _Christine Everhart?!_ ” Natasha was shocked. “But she’s so…She has a reputation for sleeping around, then spreading vicious rumors about the men she’s with! Surely the prince knows that and has better judgement than to spend the night with her!”

    “Well, maybe she’s changed. It happens.”

    “Maybe she has…” Their conversation changed to other gossip around the castle and Steve stopped listening.

    ‘ _He’s straight! Of course he is! What was I thinking, starting to develop feelings for Tony?! There’s no way he could ever like me in that way! He’s the prince, and I’m just a kid from the village_.’

    The rest of the morning passed quickly due to the chores Steve was assigned to do. By noon he noticed that the prince hadn’t send the message he promised to, and accepted that maybe he just decided to sleep a little longer after spending the whole night up, if the rumours he heard were true.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Femalemarvelfanatic and M1das thought it would be fun to have a little game at the end of this chapter. Since we never mention who the knights are, we want you to guess who they are, and tell us which horse belongs to which knight. The first person to get them all correct will get a cameo in the next chapter!


	4. Chapter 4

     Around seven o’clock that night, Tony finally got in touch with Steve, via communicator.

     “Hello, Your Highness,” the riding instructor said, without any real enthusiasm. He almost sounded sad.

     “Hi, Steve! I’m sorry I didn’t come to my lessons today,” the prince apologized.

     “It’s ok. You were busy with your friend.”

     “She...she’s not my friend, Steve. Just because I’m a prince, that doesn’t mean I’m always surrounded by friends. Well, that depends on what you define as ‘friends’.”

     The blond shook his head. “It’s ok. I said it’s fine. I just…”

     “What? Are you jealous?”

     Steve hesitated. “...Should I be?”

     “I’m not interested in her, Steve, or really women in general. Especially after last night.” The blond man frowned. “They were all boring and gossipy, and…the only reason I slept with Christine is because she‘s always been able to distract me from my loneliness.” Tony sighed. “I wanted you to come with me, but my father wouldn’t allow it. I asked.”

     “You did?” Tony nodded, then sighed again, and ran his fingers through his hair.

     “Look at me...I’ve been flirting with you for _days_ and you didn’t even like me enough to feel jealous. God, I suck at this,” the royal muttered to himself.

     “You were...flirting with me?”

     “ _You didn’t even notice?_ Oh my god…” The prince was interrupted from whatever he was going to say next by a notification on his communicator that Queen Peggy was contacting him. “Hey, Steve? Could you hold on a minute? My mother wants to talk to me.”

     “Of course! I’ll wait as long as I need to.” Tony smiled.

     “I’ll be right back.” He tapped on the notification, which made a second hologram appear, and immediately saw his mother’s face.

     “Hello, darling! Are you back at the castle yet?” she asked.

     “Yes, Mum.”

     “Excellent! Your father and I are expecting guests, and we want you there to greet them. Come to the throne room as soon as you can,” the queen said.

     “I’ll be there in a few minutes.” The queen nodded and closed her end of the call. The prince tapped on Steve’s hologram and was reconnected with him. “Hi. I’m really sorry, but I have to go. We have guests coming, and my father and mum want me to be there to greet them.”

     “Oh, that’s fine! I guess I’ll just talk to you later?” the blond asked hopefully.

     “Of course! But I have to go now. Bye!”

     “Bye!” The royal closed the hologram of his instructor and started walking toward the throne room.

     “I'm sorry I’m late,” Tony said as he entered the room.

     “It's fine, Your Highness. I know how busy your day can get when you’re trying to learn how to rule a kingdom,” Prince T’Challa replied, his sister, Princess Shuri, by his side.

     “Call me Tony, please.” They shook hands. “I’ve heard a lot about you, Princess.”

     She gave him a warm smile. “Thank you. I was looking at your kingdom on the way to the castle, and there are some things that I would be interested in sharing with you. Areas of technology that I think you could improve on. When is the next time you’re available?”

     “Tonight, after dinner. You and Prince T’Challa should be all set up by then.” Right at that moment, Jarvis came in to the room to announce that dinner was ready to be served.

     “Thank you, Jarvis!” Queen Peggy rose from her throne. “If Your Highnesses will please follow me?” The three royals walked out, but Tony was stopped before he could follow them.

     “Anthony, by the end of the evening, I expect you to ask for the princess’s hand in marriage,” his father commanded.

     “What?” The prince was shocked. “But I _just_ met her!”

     “Well, you have to marry someone! You’ve rejected all the other princess that your mother and I have brought before you.”

     “Because they’re all boring and ditzy! If and when I get married, I want it to be to someone that I actually love. Someone that treats me like an equal! Somebody who can see passed the crown and money, and just see me!”

     “Well, who are you going to marry, then,” the king yelled. “The horse boy?”

     “I might,” Tony yelled back. “He’s the only one who’s ever treated me like a human being around here!”

     “GET OUT!” King Howard screamed at his son.

     “Fine!” The young royal turned around and stormed out of the castle.

     ‘ _Steve. I need Steve,_ ’ Tony thought as he walked. ‘ _He’ll calm me down._ ’ He tapped on his communicator. “Where are you?” he demanded before the other man could speak. His words came out angrier than he meant them to. The prince took a deep breath. “I’m sorry, Steve. I’m just really upset. I got into an argument with my father a few minutes ago.”

     “Oh. Are you ok? Can I do anything?” The riding instructor looked and sounded concerned.

     “Are you busy? Could we meet someplace?”

     “Of course! I’m at the stables. I’m just finishing up the last of my chores for the night, but I’ll be done by the time you get here. If you want, we could go down to the village for a while. I was going to go there after this to see my mom. Why don’t you come with me?” Steve suggested. The prince nodded.

     “Thank you!”    

     “I can ride her with you, if you’re scared,” Steve offered a few minutes later, while helping the prince onto Friday’s back. The brunet had borrowed some of his instructor’s clothing again to blend in with the commoners.

     “I need to learn how to do this by myself, darling,” Tony said stubbornly, taking a second to realise what he said. Looking at the other man’s face, he saw that the riding instructor’s cheeks had a light pink coloring. The prince smirked.

     Steve saw the smirk on the other man’s face, but his mind told him the royal was either playing with his feelings or it was just a mistake. He took a moment to think about it, and realized it was probably the latter, since the Queen called everyone who worked in the castle “darling”, so maybe Tony just picked up her habit.

     “That is true…” the riding instructor said. “Well, since this is your first time riding by yourself, we’ll go slow. Just watch me, and do everything I do. If you need help with anything, let me know, ok?” The prince nodded and the two men started in their way.

     They rode towards the village until the sun rose again. Tony was almost falling asleep on top of Friday, but Steve was still wide awake.

     “Why don’t we take a break,” the blond suggested. “The horses need to eat and drink some water.”

     “If you want to.”

     Under the early morning light, Steve could see the bags under the prince’s eyes more clearly. They let the horses rest for a while and sat down at a restaurant on the side of the road. It wasn’t as fancy as the ones Tony was used to, but it was good enough. The prince asked for beer, but was too tired to drink much of it. He let his head rest on the other man’s shoulder, and fell asleep before he could thank his instructor again for taking him to the village.

     The riding instructor felt Tony lean against him, and looked over to see the royal sleeping. Knowing that they’d have to leave soon to get to his mother’s house, he paid the bill for their drinks and picked up the disguised prince.

     After carefully placing him on America’s back, Steve climbed onto the saddle, with the royal in front of him for safety, then reached over and grabbed Friday’s reins so that she would walk beside them as they rode, and they continued their journey.


	5. Chapter 5

    “Tony…” The prince scrunched up his nose and tried to go back to sleep. “Tony...we’re here.” He muttered a bit. “Come on, Tony. It’s time to wake up.” He sighed and opened his eyes to see Steve looking down at him.

    “God, you’re attractive,” the royal said, not realizing that the words weren’t in his head until he saw the other man blush. He sat up a bit straighter and looked around. They were at a small cottage. There was a vegetable garden on one side of the front door, and a flower garden on the other. The prince could hear various animals a short distance away. ‘ _He lived on a farm before moving to the castle!_ ’

    Steve helped him down, since America was such a large horse. Tony said a quiet “thanks”. The blond tied the horses to one of the fences so they couldn’t run away, despite being well-disciplined, but it was better to be safe than sorry. The prince reached out for his instructor’s hand, intertwining their fingers before the blonde could knock on the door. “Stevie, is that you?” A woman’s voice called from inside as soon as Steve knocked. It was possible to hear the sound of the door unlocking, what made the royal wonder how thin the walls were.

    “Hi, Ma. Happy birthday!” He leaned down to hug her. The older lady was almost Tony’s height, and her blond hair almost unnoticeable within the white hair. One of her eyes was completely white. “This is Tony. Tony, this is my mom, Sarah.”

    “Hello, Ma’am.”

    “It’s very nice to meet you, Tony,” she said. She stepped back from the doorway so both of them could pass. Steve whispered in his ear for him to take his shoes off before entering. The house was modest and beautiful. The wood was bare and a fifties-style television rested on the corner of what Tony assumed was a living room.

    “I was just getting coffee ready. Sit down,” Sarah gestured to the table. Both of them sat and she carried two more plates to the living room, setting them down, one in front of each. She put a pastry in their plates. “You look so thin, Stevie! Eat something!”

    “It’s okay, Mom. We already ate.”

    “They aren’t feeding you properly in that damn castle, are they?” Sarah turned so her good eye faced Tony. “You’re the prince. You’ll be king one day. It’s your job to make sure everyone gets enough food.” Steve looked startled for a brief moment, before she responded, “Yes, I know he’s the prince. I’m not an idiot, Steven!”

    “Ma, I was planning to tell you...” her son tried to defend himself.

    “I know, sweetheart.” She put a hand on the prince’s face, stroking his cheek with her thumb. “You are so handsome,” she told Tony. Steve tried to intervene but she ignored him. “You look so much like your father.”

    The prince frowned. “I’m adopted,” he said, then looked at Steve, who shrugged.

    “You are, but I remember your parents. Maria and Howard were always together...holding hands, kissing…” She sighed. “It was horrible the way Howard abandoned both of you when she got pregnant.”

    “...what?” He was shocked. ‘ _My father is my_ **_birth_ ** _father?!_ ’

    “Oh, yes. It was _quite_ the scandal! Howard was already married to Queen Peggy when he met your mother, but that didn’t matter to either one of them. Maria, and everyone else, truly believed Howard when he said he would leave his wife, but then he changed his mind after she told him about you. Didn’t want anything to do with either one of you. After she died, you were sent to an orphanage for a few days. Everyone in the village knew perfectly well who your father was, so rumors started spreading about the cruel king who refused to take care of his son after the sudden death of his mother, and just a few hours after giving birth, too.”

    ‘ _How did she die?_ ’ the royal thought to himself.

    “The queen had no idea that he’d had an affair, so it was quite the shock to her. Divorce isn’t really acceptable for royalty, especially in an arranged marriage like theirs, but we all thought she would ask him for one. But the queen is a much better person than any of us imagined. She’s the one who convinced him to take you in, and, because Howard had given up his parental rights, they both adopted you, so you could one day become king, since she can’t have any children of her own, and she didn’t want you to grow up never knowing who your father is.”

    Steve held his hand from under the table, stroking the back of it with his thumb in a vain attempt of calming him down. The blond noticed the prince had some difficulty breathing, so he did his best to help him breathe properly again, trying to stop a possible panic attack.

    “Mom, can you leave us alone for a second?” She nodded and went to the kitchen. Steve wrapped his arms around Tony’s torso in a hug. He could feel the prince hiccuping inside his arms.

    “Did you…know about it?” the royal asked, without looking up.

    “A little bit, yeah.” The riding instructor rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

    “Why didn’t you tell me?!”

    “I assumed you knew!”

    He dried his own tears and helped Steve clear the table, trying to mask his sadness. Sarah came back in the room and saw Tony with plates in his hands.

    “Steven! Tony is our guest! You never make a guest do any work! I raised you better than that!” She took the plates out of the prince’s hand and gave them to her son. “Now, you do the cleaning up and set up for the surprise party you think I don’t know about, while _we_...” She turned at looked at the royal. “...go for a walk and get to know each other. I have a feeling I’m going to be seeing a lot more of you.” Tony looked down, blushing. She took him by the arm and they left.

    “I’m sorry about what I said before, sweetheart. I didn’t know it would get the worst of you,” she said later, as they walked around a nearby pond.

    “It’s alright, Mrs. Rogers. You didn’t know. And Steve helped me. No big deal.”

    “Oh, please, call me Sarah,” she demanded. “Is Stevie doing well in the castle? At first I thought he wouldn’t  adapt very well, but now I see I was completely wrong.”

    “Yeah, he’s an amazing guy. He’s helped me since the first day we met. You sure raised him right, Sarah.”

    “Thank you, dear. You know, every time Steve called me and talked for hours about how beautiful you are, I didn’t believe him.” Tony’s face turned red. “I can see why he’s so in love with you.”

    The prince shook his head. “Steve isn’t in love with me, Sarah.”

    “You think I don’t know my own son, Prince Stark?” Tony flinched. He hated hearing his father’s name being used to refer to him.

    “I never said that. I just don’t think your son would like me in that way. We’ve only known each other a few days, and he’s already become my best friend, but I think he likes somebody else.”

    “Excuse my language,Your Highness, but that’s bullshit! I never heard him talking about anyone else ever since he met you and your, quote, ‘beautiful eyes and royal abs’.”

    “He said that?”

    “A week ago. Tony, I have never seen my son liking someone the way he likes you.”

    Before they entered the house, Tony wished her a happy birthday and opened the door for her.

    “Surprise!” several voices yelled out. He stepped back as several people came up to give her hugs.

    After several hours, the party finally ended and all three of them were exhausted.

    “It’s getting late. I should go home,” The prince said, but he didn’t really want to leave.

    “You’re right. It is late.” Sarah stood up and gathered all of her gifts. “You should just stay the night, then go home sometime tomorrow.”

    “Thank you, Sarah.”

    “We don’t have a guest room, so you’ll have to stay in Stevie’s room. I hope that’s alright…?” She looked around as if she was trying to come up with another option for Tony, if he said that _wasn’t_ alright.

    “That’s fine, as long as you’re ok with it?” He looked over at the blond, who nodded.

    “Come on, Your Highness. Time for bed.” Steve stood up and lead the prince up a small ladder that Tony hadn’t noticed when he arrived, which lead to an attic bedroom. There were high windows on either side of the room, a desk and chair under the window on the left-hand side, and a bed with a twin mattress facing the door.

    “There’s a set of pajamas in the closet,” the riding instructor said, pointing to a wardrobe on the right-hand side of the room, then he pointed to the foot of the bed, where a chest was sitting. “Extra blankets and another pillow are in that chest. I’ll be downstairs if you need me.”

    “I thought there would be a second bed. I can’t take your bed, Steve!” He started to go back downstairs to ask Sarah if she would mind if he slept in their barn.

    “It’s fine, Tony. Really!” Steve stopped him before he could leave the room. “I don’t mind letting you have my bed for the night.”

    “ _You_ might not mind, but I do!” Tony looked at the bed, deep in thought. “No, we’ll just… We’ll share the bed.”

    “How do _you_ suggest we _do that_ , _Your Highness_? If you _can’t tell_ , it’s a _twin_ mattress, which, I assume, means that it’s _smaller_ than _your bed_ in the _castle_ , and _not big enough_ for two _grown men_ to _share_!” Steve said grumpily.

    “Wow… You get _cranky_ when you’re tired!”

    “I’m sorry, Tony. I’m exhausted, I have a headache, and I have to get up early in the morning to do chores around the farm and in the house for my mom before we leave. I don’t want to fight with you. If you want to share the bed, that’s fine with me, but how would we do that?”

    The royal paused for a second. “Let me think about it while we get ready for bed.” The riding instructor nodded. A few minutes later, Tony had a solution that he was almost positive would work.

    “Go lie down. On your back, please.” Once Steve did as the prince asked, Tony got in the bed, too, from the other side, and lay so he was on his side, with his head on the blond’s chest and his arms and one leg around the other man. He untangled himself for a second to grab the blanket, then got right back into his previous position. “Comfortable? Warm enough?” he asked.

    “Yeah, Tony. I’m fine. You?” Steve frowned, not wanting his crush to be uncomfortable in any way.

    “I’m alright, but we should go to sleep. We have a lot of chores to do before we leave.”

    “You don’t have to do them with me. Actually, Ma might yell at me if I let you.”

    “I _want_ to. And I’ll even get permission from your mom so she doesn’t yell at you. After all...” Tony batted his eyelashes and tried to look as innocent as possible. “...you’re teaching me about horses, and how to ride them, and trying to help me get over my fear of them, and your mom was kind enough to allow me into her home and let me stay for the night. It just wouldn’t be fair of me not to do something to repay you for all the kindness you both have shown me.”

    Steve blinked. “You are... _frighteningly_ good at that.” The prince smiled. “Alright, you can help me tomorrow, as long as you can convince my mom to _let you_ help.”

    “Great! Good night, Steve!” The royal lay his head on the blond’s chest and closed his eyes.

    “Good night, Your Highness.”

    As both men fell asleep, they had the same final thought: ‘ _I love you._ ’

    The next morning, Steve woke up with his right arm numb. He looked down to see the prince still fast asleep. “I love you,” he whispered.

    “I know. Your mom told me,” Tony whispered back, having woken up when he heard the other man’s voice.

    “Tony, I...I’m sorry! I know it’s inappropriate, because you’re the prince and I’m... _me_. I swear I won’t let this affect our working relationship! And I understand if it makes you uncomfortable, and you want a different instructor. I’ll pack my bags as soon as we get back to the castle, and you’ll _never_ …” Steve was cut off from his rambling by the royal kissing him on the lips.

    “Steve? Shut up, love,” the prince said as soon as he pulled away. “I love you, too.” He paused to give the blond another quick kiss. “We should get up though. You have chores, and _I_ have to go convince your mom to let me help.”

    As Steve and Tony were finishing the chores in the mid-afternoon, they heard a horse galloping toward them. Both men looked up to see a horse and rider quickly approaching Sarah’s home. As the rider got closer, the blond recognized the rider to be one of their neighbors from the farm next door, Peter Parker. The young boy, around ten years old, dismounted from his horse, then reached up and grabbed the box he had been holding as he rode.

    “Hey, Mister Rogers! Can you give this to your ma…” The boy froze as he saw the prince’s face smiling at him. “Tha-that is the prince!”

    “Yeah, I am,” Tony said.

    “You never told me you knew the prince!” His eyes were glowing, and he looked at the royal like he wasn’t real. “Can I take a picture with you?”

    Tony nodded his head and the boy took out a smartphone from inside his pocket.

    “Whoa whoa whoa. What is this?” The prince took the phone from his hand.

    “A phone.”

    “This is _not_ a phone. This is a _fossil_.” Tony activated his communicator bracelet, opening the camera mode. “Come closer.” Peter did and he took the picture, sending it to the child’s phone with an easy swiping motion.

    “That is _awesome_!” Peter said. “What is that?”

    “It’s a communicator. You don’t have it here?” Tony asked, incredulous.  

    “It’s too expensive. If you have Stark tech, you are either _super_ rich or you sold one of your organs on the black market.”

    “Oh my God, kid! You’re coming with us to castle. He can come with us, right, Stevie?”

    ‘ _Only Ma and Bucky can call me that!_ ’ Steve thought to himself before replying, “If May allows him. Ask her, Pete.” Steve shrugged and took the box the boy brought for Sarah. “We need to leave by four.”

    “I’ll let you know,” Peter screamed and jumped on the horse once again, pulling his hood over his head, and riding away as fast as he could.

    “I want him as my messenger. Remind me to give him a bracelet when we get there.”

    “You two going already?” Sarah asked a few hours later, when she saw Steve packing his things.

    “I wanted to stay longer, but Tony has work to do, Ma. We will be back as soon as we can,” he said, and kissed her forehead.

    Sarah also got a kiss from Tony. “I’ll miss you, Sarah. Call us, okay?”

    They heard Peter by the door. “Hey Mr. Rogers, Prince Anthony, May let me go with you, but she said that I would have to be back by Friday.”

    “Yeah, we can take you back by Friday.”

    They traveled for hours and hours. When they arrived, it was already late at night. Peter yawned over his horse. The guards almost stopped the boy from getting inside until the prince said the kid was his guest. As the prince dismounted from his horse, he saw the family reeve stomping toward him.

    “Pep, get a guest room ready for Peter, and arrange a meeting with Doctor Banner tomorrow morning.”

    “Tony, do you know what time it is?” Pepper complained, but it was understandable. “You’ve been gone for almost three nights! Queen Peggy has been so worried about you that she’s refused to sleep! She sent out search parties to look for you from the moment she found out you were gone, and even threatened to leave your father because he kicked you out! She went to get some rest after she got word that you were home.”

    "Oh. I should have contacted Mum to tell her I was safe. Damn. Alright. I’ll go see her first thing in the morning. Make the meeting after nine in the morning, please.” He came closer and whispered in her ear. “Get the kid some Stark tech, please. The communicator, a laptop, things like that."

    “Will you be sleeping with me tonight?” Steve asked, grabbing his hand.

    “Yes, of course, love.” Tony placed a chaste kiss on Steve's knuckles. “Go to sleep, Pep. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.” He kissed her cheek and followed the blond to his room.


End file.
